Bushtit predation by cats

[dgulb...@gmail.com]

Can anyone tell me why Bushtits are subject to cat predation?

I never see them on the ground.  They are usually at least 6' up

and moving fast.  Or could it be that Magpies cause some to

fall out of the nest where they are found by a cat?

[David Suddjian]

Cats can jump. And Bushtits are low sometimes, where there is low cover like shrubs.

David

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[Mike Britten]

Our cat would catch dragonflies in flight in our backyard. Her successful captures were within about 4 feet of the ground. And she would not eat them, just let them go and try again. Amazing predators!

Mike Britten

On Mon, Jul 14, 2025 at 10:42 AM dgulb...@gmail.com <dgulb...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[DAVID A LEATHERMAN]

David,

I see lots of bushtits foraging low in shrubs like coyote willow and others.  I would think when they are intent on getting something like the inhabitants of a gall that requires pecking in one place for minutes, they'd be vulnerable.  They also feed on the ground frequently.  I wish all the cat owners who underestimate the ancient hunting instincts buried deep in the DNA of every domestic cat would wake up, keep their beloved pets indoors and/or care more about the impact their cat likely has on wild birds.

The pic below shows a bushtit on the ground near an urban lake getting midges this past April.

Dave Leatherman

Fort Collins

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From: cob...@googlegroups.com <cob...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of dgulb...@gmail.com <dgulb...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2025 10:42 AM
To: Colorado Birds <cob...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [cobirds] Bushtit predation by cats

 

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[dgulb...@gmail.com]

Thanks to all for their replies.  It breaks my heart every time I see a dead bird.  I also fear

for the life of my cat, since coyotes show up in the neighborhood.  Nevertheless,  I feel I have to

strike a compromise.  At the risk of raising a storm of protest, I assert that my cat would be even 

more deprived of a full life than I would be if I were confined to an exclusively indoor life.  And I

don't think a "catio" would suffice.

So I do as much as I can: I don't let the cat out until several hours after dawn, limit him to a few hours a day, 

restrict him severely when baby robins are due out of the nest, and in general try to keep him with me as I

work in my very large  garden and yard.  If my cat were catching birds often, I would

probably change my mind and keep him in altogether.

I acknowledge the amazing predatory abilities: my cat is quite small (8 1/2 lbs) and has no front claws (that way

when adopted), so I expected him to be unable to snag anything.  But he's still capable.  Honestly, I feel the voles

are fair game, but any bird breaks my heart.  I've been here 47 years but never seen a bushtit caught until now.  

[Paula Hansley]

I have been amazed and disheartened at how many birders let their cats outside.  Most of my friends let their cats outside saying that they deserve to be out.

Cats are not naturally wild animals like bobcats. I trained my feral cat to walk while on a leash as has my stepdaughter in Reno.  I now let him outside and he stays in my fenced yard because he has arthritis and cannot climb my fence or catch birds.

I had to stop feeding bird for the past few years because of a cat named Thomas, who roamed freely every day and spent all of his waking hours in my yard catching birds. His owner was unresponsive to my outcries about her cat and threatened me with a lawsuit when I took Thomas to the Humane Society.  She had to pay a small fee to reclaim him.

 I tried in vain to encourage the Louisville City Council to make it illegal to let cats roam.  Several cities do have laws regarding roaming cats.  

I’ve given up.  It was absolutely amazing and disappointing to me to find out that most of the people on Naturenet and CObirds that I know  who own cats let them roam.

Paula Hansley

Boulder County

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[William H Kaempfer]

I am surprised that David hasn't said anything (perhaps because he has been a contributor to the thread) but I believe cat threads of any type are not allowed on COBirds.

Bill Kaempfer

Safety Harbor, FL

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From: cob...@googlegroups.com <cob...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Paula Hansley <plha...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2025 7:52 PM
To: Mike Britten <mikebr...@gmail.com>
Cc: dgulb...@gmail.com <dgulb...@gmail.com>; Colorado Birds <cob...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Bushtit predation by cats

 

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[David Suddjian]

Bill is correct. 

• Discussions about feral and outdoor cats are prohibited.

 Thread closed. The CoBirds rules are a bit obscure and need some updating, but here they are: https://cobirds.org/cobirds-guidelines/

David Suddjian

List moderator

Littleton, CO

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